Near the end of September, the brass asked Schaff if he’d mind becoming the One-One, or assistant team leader. The brass wanted to put an overweight Special Forces sergeant from Germany who had a previous tour of duty with a Green Beret A-Team, but no experience in Laos, in the One-Zero slot simply because he had more rank. Schaff objected. He was quietly removed from the team and the senior SF Sergeant took command.

At that time, FOB 1 teams were being pushed hard to get on the ground. Thus, there was little or no time for social niceties. More important, with the new One-Zero, there was no dress rehearsal. No practice mission. And he had little or no respect for ST Alabama’s Vietnamese team members. He dismissed veteran SOG recon sergeants who tried to offer him advice about running missions across the fence. Among those who tried to talk to him were Spider Parks and Pat Watkins. Both were experienced One-Zeroes; both had been to Laos and both were respected SOG members at FOB 1. When asked later about the team leader, Spider simply said he had shunned experienced counsel.”

About the Author

Born Jan. 19, 1946, John Stryker Meyer entered the Army Dec. 1, 1966, completed basic training at Ft. Dix, N.J., advanced infantry training at Ft. Gordon, Ga., jump school at Ft. Benning, Ga., and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in Dec. 1967. He arrived at FOB 1 Phu Bai in May 1968, where he joined Spike Team Idaho, which transferred to Command & Control North, CCN in Da Nang, January 1969. In October 1969 he rejoined RT Idaho at CCN. That tour of duty ended suddenly in April 1970. Today he is a program director at the Veterans Affordable Housing Program, based in Orange, CA and joined the SOFREP team of correspondents in March 2015. He has written two non-fiction books on SOG secret wars: Across The Fence: The Secret War in Vietnam – Expanded Edition, and Co-Authored On The Ground: The Secret War in Vietnam with John E. Peters, a member of RT Rhode Island. Meyer’s website is: www.sogchronicles.com.

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Recon6

Hey Tilt... seems I can never read enough of your books or articles !! I believe I've read Everything you've written and that includes numerous rec's you have given about other writers, cost me a shit load of money, but well worth it to continue learning of the Incredibly Brave Men in SOG !!
I'd read anything you write bro, to include fiction, which I usually dislike, however with your experiences and ability to transport the reader into the story, I'm available to anything you write, truth or fiction... Please, keep putting out stories about SOG so that America can learn of You Brave and Selfless Men !! BZ...6

Susan B

Great read. The momentum of the action just hurled me through the story. Will definitely get the book. Thank you, Mr. Meyer, for keeping these stories alive and ripping through our consciousness.

Micky M

Great book recommended to me by several SOFREP brothers and sisters. I have read it twice and it is one of those books I will return to again and again.